Maryland Homeowners Chesapeake Bay Nitrogen Removal Act of 2009
Chesapeake Bay Nitrogen Removal Act of 2009
Senate Bill 554 (Chapter 280, Acts of 2009)
This Act adds to the Environment Article to prohibit a person from installing, or having installed, on property a person owns in the State in the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area, an on-site sewage disposal system to service a newly constructed building, unless the on-site sewage disposal system utilizes nitrogen removal technology. The Act also prohibits a person from replacing or having replaced, an existing on-site sewage disposal system on property a person owns in the State in the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area, unless the replacement on-site sewage disposal system utilizes nitrogen removal technology. The Act defines "nitrogen removal technology" as the best available technology for nitrogen removal. The Act also defines "on-site sewage disposal system" as a sewage treatment unit, collection system, disposal area, and related appurtenances.
The Act provides that the Department of the Environment shall assist homeowners in paying the cost difference between a conventional on-site sewage disposal system and a system that utilizes nitrogen removal technology with money from the Bay Restoration Fund if sufficient funds are available. This must be done in accordance with §9-1605.2(h) of the Environment Article.
The Act also provides that a person who installs or replaces a system not utilizing nitrogen removal technology is subject to civil and administrative penalties and enforcement mechanisms provided in §§9-334 through 9-342 of the Environment Article. The penalties cannot exceed $8,000.
The Act also provides that the Department of the Environment must adopt regulations and that the regulations shall include provisions to ensure that appropriate management measures are provided for the operation and maintenance of nitrogen removal technology.
The Act also provides for a new subtraction modification, codified as Tax-General Article §10-208(q). An individual will be allowed a subtraction for the amount by which the cost difference between a conventional on-site sewage disposal system and a system that utilizes nitrogen removal technology exceeds the amount of assistance the individual receives from the Department of the Environment under §9-1108 of the Environment Article.
This Act takes effect October 1, 2009, but the subtraction modification in Tax-General Article §10-208(q) will be applicable to all taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009.
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Workplace Fraud Act of 2009
Workplace Fraud Act of 2009
Senate Bill 909 (Chapter 188, Acts of 2009)
This Act establishes a presumption that work performed by an individual paid by an employer creates an employer-employee relationship, unless the employer can show that the individual is an exempt person or an independent contractor, as defined by the statute established under this Act and the classifying regulations that the Commissioner of Labor and Industry (the "Commissioner") of the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (DLLR) shall issue.
This Act specifically prohibits an employer in the construction services and landscaping services industries from:
- improperly misclassifying an employee; or
- knowingly misclassifying an employee.
This Act sets forth the procedures and penalties for employer noncompliance that three areas of State government-labor and industry, workers' compensation, and unemployment insurance-may enforce. Any one of these three government units may impose civil penalties on an employer who is found to have improperly or knowingly misclassified employees. But only one set of penalties may be assessed against an employer who violates any of the Act's provisions. Penalties are more severe for an employer who is guilty of knowingly misclassifying an employee.
The Commissioner is authorized to investigate and enforce compliance with this Act and the regulations thereunder. To overcome the presumption of an employer-employee relationship, an employer may show that an individual is an "independent contractor" pursuant to the DLLR's "ABC" test, which is found under § 8-205 of the Labor and Employment Article, and Code of Maryland Regulations 09.32.01.18. If the Commissioner determines that the employer is in violation for failing to properly classify an employee, the Commissioner shall notify the Comptroller, the Office of Unemployment Insurance, the Maryland Insurance Administration, and the Workers' Compensation Commission to enable these agencies to assure the employer's compliance with the agencies' laws, utilizing their own definitions, standards, and procedures.
Upon notice, the Comptroller shall take its own actions pursuant to its authorities under the Tax-General Article to ensure that income tax withholdings for wages, as defined under Tax-General Article § 10-905(f), are recovered and credited to the affected employees, and that appropriate interest and penalties are assessed and collected.
A person who knowingly advises an employer to take action for the purpose of violating this Act is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $20,000. Under the provisions set forth for the DLLR's Labor and Industry Division, a person who holds a professional license as a lawyer or an accountant who commits such a violation is not subject to civil fines, but is subject to sanctions by the regulatory bodies in the State responsible for oversight of these professions. However, the penalty provisions for the DLLR's Division of Unemployment Insurance and the State Workers' Compensation Commission do not make this distinction, and thus a person who holds a professional license as a lawyer or an accountant and who commits such a violation may still be subject to civil fines. This Act takes effect October 1, 2009.
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